Tennessee Athletic Department $200 Million In Debt

Big time college football is the money-maker in all of college sports, but to be big time and not any good, equals bad press and plenty of debt.

A Sports Business Journal report is reporting that because of bad play on the football field and fewer people in the stands, the Tennessee Volunteers athletic program is $200 million in debt.

After staggering to losing football seasons in four of the last five years and seeing attendance drop to levels last seen in the 1970s, the Vols find themselves mired in more than $200 million of debt, the most in the SEC, with reserves of just $1.95 million, the least in the conference.

Many are blaming former AD Mike Hamilton who went through several head coaches in his tenure, and allowed the program that was a monster in the South Eastern Conference to begin to lag behind the likes of Vanderbilt.